Head of Technical Architecture - AI

Head of Technical Architecture - AI

Contract Inside IR35 6 Months

Contract Length: 6 Months IR35 Status: Inside IR35 Location: London, Bristol or Manchester (predominantly remote) Clearance: BPSS Required

Daily rate - £750 - £850

We are seeking an experienced Head of Technical Architecture - AI to lead the technical architecture function for a major, high-profile AI transformation programme within the UK public sector.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the architecture, strategy, and governance behind innovative AI-powered digital products that are transforming how users interact with public services.

Location

Flexible across London, Bristol, or Manchester , with a predominantly remote working model. Occasional travel to London is required for team meetings (approximately once every two months).

Clearance

• BPSS required

• Existing SC clearance is advantageous but not essential

• Candidates currently holding SC may transfer their clearance during onboarding The Role

As the Head of Technical Architecture, you will provide technical leadership across a large AI programme, driving architectural excellence and ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, and aligned with strategic objectives.

You will lead a team of architects, define technical standards and governance, and work closely with senior stakeholders to influence decision-making across complex technology landscapes.

A key aspect of the role will be evaluating multiple technical approaches, presenting options to senior stakeholders, and providing clear recommendations based on business outcomes, scalability, and risk.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of technical architects within a complex AI programme

• Define and drive technical architecture strategy across AI-enabled digital products

• Establish and promote architectural best practices, standards, and governance

• Shape technology roadmaps and influence strategic technical decisions

• Work closely with multidisciplinary teams in Agile delivery environments

• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, reusable, and operationally sustainable

• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences

• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to align technology investments with organisational objectives

• Champion continuous improvement and innovation across architecture practices Essential Experience

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Strong experience designing and delivering AI-enabled digital products

• Proven leadership of technical architecture teams and communities

• Deep understanding of cloud-native and modern application architectures

• Experience developing and implementing enterprise-wide technical strategies

• Strong knowledge of:

• Cloud technologies

• Serverless architectures

• DevOps practices

• CI/CD pipelines

• Test-driven development (TDD)

• Security architecture and threat modelling

• Experience working within Agile, multidisciplinary environments

• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills

• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business-focused recommendations Highly Desirable Experience

Particular interest will be given to candidates with demonstrable expertise in:

• Knowledge Architecture

• Knowledge Graphs

• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

• Designing scalable AI platforms and services

• Building architectures focused on component reusability

• Delivering large-scale technology programmes with proven scalability outcomes What We're Looking For

The successful candidate will be:

• A strategic technology leader who can provide clear recommendations and architectural direction

• A collaborative individual who thrives in cross-functional teams

• An excellent communicator capable of engaging senior stakeholders and non-technical audiences

• Experienced in designing reusable and scalable technology solutions

• Passionate about AI and emerging technologies and their application to real-world challenges